When one of my new straight-male friends asked if he could sit in on a QSA meeting, I immediately said yes and took him to a panel on LGBT dating, hoping to show him how cool the queer community is. The discussion was mostly civil, until my fledgling ally worked up the courage to ask one simple question.

Once we learn to see the stories of LGBT people not as "their" story but as human stories, then we can see that we are interconnected and our struggles are universal. After all, all people have to learn to feel comfortable in their own skin. We all have parts of ourselves that we need to come to terms with and accept, whether we're gay or straight.

As a transgender woman I get asked by gays and lesbians quite frequently how the T fits in the LGBT, and why transgender rights should be part of the larger gay agenda. Rather than shrug off the question, I take the time to actually answer.

Contrary to what lots of straight men think, this feminist is not trying to dominate men. In fact, men who don't have a good enough sense of themselves to advocate for their own needs don't attract me at all.

In this interview, Miss Universe 1997 Brook Lee talks with me about how straight people can be allies for LGBT rights. She also explains how her diverse heritage led her to become a strong supporter of the LGBT community.

These companies are doing it by participating in a new program called the Workplace Ally Challenge, a friendly competition among businesses to activate as many employees as possible in creating LGBT-inclusive workplace culture.

Gone are the days when American men and women could not serve their country openly as lesbians and gays. And gone are the days when the majority of Americans did not support fairness and equality for LGBT people.

I am cisgender and identify as gay. These are not things that I chose. But I do choose to be an ally to my trans friends and colleagues because I want everyone I know to be treated as they want to be treated.

Self-proclaimed "allies" terrify me. If a part of your claimed identity relies on a struggle you have no or little access to -- I am given pause. It is easy to speak positively about marginalized groups, but as soon as you take credit or praise for it, only your success will be remembered.

This is why we quad date, which is really just dating other duos -- a girl and her gay best friend -- but the word 'quad' is more fun. Put it this way, it's like going to the movies with your best friend: You can whisper to each other during the show, and then analyze it after.

I am constantly reminded of how blessed I am to have a number of straight men who continue to support my journey as an out and proud gay man. They truly prove that sexual orientation and identity should not matter when a friendship is real.

What do the Warwick University men's rowing team and Macklemore have in common? They are all young, straight, attractive, white men taking a public stance against homophobia and receiving a lot of credit for it.

These days jokes about my sexuality hardly bother me, but the ownership that many women feel they have over it most certainly does. Let's dish! (I'm thinking my new catchphrase will really help reinforce my masculinity.)

Would you expect MBA programs to be one of America's hotbeds for activating people to show support for their LGBT friends? Neither would I, but 12 of the country's top business schools are proving me wrong.

There are LGBT athletes ready, willing, and able to speak on their own behalf. Why am I, a straight man, explaining what it must feel like to be an LGBT athlete when I am surrounded by dozens of LGBT athletes more than capable of sharing their own stories? Why are we suffocating LGBT voices?